Biomass- Production

Biomass energy consumption in the United States grew more than 60% from 2002 to 2013. This growth is almost entirely due to increased consumption of biomass to produce biofuels, mainly ethanol but also a smaller amount of biodiesel and other biomass-based diesel fuels. In 2013, biomass accounted for about half of all renewable energy consumed and 5% of total U.S. energy consumed. The major biomass energy sources in the United States are:…Learn more>>http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=15451

US Dominated The Electricity From Biomass World Market In 2012renewableenergyfocus.comRenewable Power Generation – 2012 Figuresedited byGail Rajgor/ 18 November 2013

Special report. Part six: US dominated the electricity from biomass world market in 2012.

-Biomass; In energy terms biomass is the most important renewable energy carrier globally. It is used for the provision of heat, electricity and transportation fuels. Traditionally most of the organic material used within the worldwide energy system helps to cover energy demand for cooking and heating; this use totals 8.5% of global final energy consumption. Additionally…Learn more>>

Solid biofuels; Solid biofuels used for electricity generation are mainly wood and/or wood waste from forestry and the subsequent industries, solid residues from the sugar based bioethanol industry (ie. bagasse), residues from the pulp and paper production (i.e. black liquor) as well as wood pellets traded internationally. Wood from short-rotation coppices plays only a minor role within the electricity market based on solid biomass…Learn more>>

-Municipal Solid Waste; During the last decade electricity generation using municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration grew worldwide by an average annual rate of about 6%. The highest share of the global electricity generation from thermal waste treatment is provided within the EU (18.7TWh) followed by the US (9.5TWh) and Japan (3TWh). A significant increase occurred…Learn more>>

-Biogas And Liquid Biofuels; Worldwide biogas powered capacity was estimated to be 14GW with an electricity output between 47-95TWh by the end of 2012, assuming a yearly growth rate of 10%. With an electricity provision of 37.1TWh in 2012, the EU was still the largest producer of energy from biogas followed by the US (10.2TWh)…Learn more>> renewableenergyfocus.com

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Despite what many perceive, the renewable energy target has, so far, lead to a far bigger expansion of bio-energy than wind and solar energy. In 2000 biomass was by a significant margin the biggest source of renewable energy, and made up more than half of final energy consumption in the EU. As the graph below shows this dominance of biomass was still very much the case 11 years later…Learn more>>

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In percentage terms the two energy sources that saw the most rapid growth were wind and solar. This is unsurprising, given their low starting point. However in absolute terms biomass is the clear winner. Between 2000 and 2011 biomass grew by 49 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). Wind and solar only grew by 13 and 6 million toe respectively. In other words the absolute growth of biomass was 2.5 times greater than in wind and solar, and so far the majority of new renewable energy since 2000 has come from biomass, not wind and solar…Learn more>>

Biomass In Germany

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The supposedly rapid expansion of solar power in Germany gets a lot of attention. The even more rapid expansion of biomass however has received absolutely no attention. Final energy consumption from biomass grew by 16 million tonnes of oil equivalent between 2000 and 2011, while wind and solar grew by 3.4 and 2.1 million toe respectively. Absolute growth of biomass in Germany has therefore been three times higher than for wind and solar combined…Learn more>>

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A Similar Theme; Here was the position in the United States in 2000: almost all renewable energy came from hydro-electricity and biomass. Biomass provided 49.2%, while hydro-electricity provided 46%. Of that provided by biomass 76% was from wood, 17% was from waste and only 7.8% was from liquid biofuels. Negligible quantities were derived from geo-thermal, solar and wind energy…Learn more>>

enlarge graphic>> Between 2000 and 2013, total growth of renewable energy consumption from liquid biofuels was almost identical to that from wind and solar combined. Liquid biofuels grew by 1768 trillion Btu, from 233 to 2001 trillion Btu, while wind and solar combined grew by, 1820 trillion Btu, from 95 to 1915 trillion Btu…Learn more>>

Future ProspectsFundamental physical realities mean that there is an upper limit to how much of our energy consumption can come from biomass. This is made clear by considerations of power density. Power density is an energetic analogy with that of crop yield. But instead of tonnes per hectare we work in watts per square metre. Typical biomass energy sources provide us with less than 0.5 watts per square metre. In the case of corn ethanol it is around 0.2 watts per square metre.